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How to Replace the Z-Stop Induction Sensor on the Creatr HS Series

Modified on: Thu, 22 Oct, 2015 at 2:48 PM

This solution link was created to help guide you through the replacement of the Z-Stop induction senor. Let's get started!

NOTE: Not completing this solution (specifically the re-calibration of the Z-Offset) to its fullness can (and most likely will) seriously damage the printer. Please make sure that you follow every step provided.

STEP 01:TURN OFF THE PRINTER FOR YOUR SAFETY TO PREVENT SHOCK. Also, remove the side panels and both parts of the electronics
cover on the printer.

STEP 02: Cut the grey wire of the faulty induction sensor
near the sensor end.

STEP 03: Unscrew the nut holding the sensor on the sensor mount, and remove & discard the old sensor.

STEP 04: Begin unbinding the sensor from the black Y-Stop
sensor’s wire. Note the holes on the spindle mount that the induction sensor’s
wire has to travel through. You may have to cut wire-ties (on some printers) that bind the induction
sensor’s wire to the bundles that run along the bottom of the frame and across
the front of the motherboard.

The 3 wires split at the motherboard: the black goes to the mother board, the blue and brown are sent to the power supply unit. Continue to unbind the

STEP 05: Disconnect the black wire connection from the motherboard; make sure that it is the skinny, black wire shown in the photo below:

STEP 06: You'll notice that the blue wire is joined to another black negative wire, and brown wire is joined to another red positive wire. Cut the old blue and brown wires away leaving the red and black in the pin-splice connectors. The grey wire should now be free. You can discard this as well.

STEP 07: You should be able to install the replacement induction sensor. Start at the top, securing the senor end to the senor mount with the washer and nut. You may need to lower the print bed; you can do this with your hand by slowly turning the Z-axis belt in a counter-clockwise motion (this will not damage the printer). You'll want to tighten the sensor down so that the LED on the sensor is facing toward the front or to the right (so that it will be visible). You may also need to adjust the top nut so that more of the tip of the sensor sticks out of the lower nut. Do not worry about calibrating it during this step; it will be done at the end.

STEP 08: Bind the new wire with the Y-Stop sensor wire down the vertical frame corner until you get to the bottom spindle mount. Thread the new grey wire (and its 3 smaller wires) through the small corner hole. You may need to (carefully) remove the black wire from it's connector to get it to fit through this whole (take special note of which hole on the connector the sensor's small, black wire is in); you can leave it off until it is time to connect the black wire to the motherboard.

STEP 09: continue to bind the gray wire with the larger bundle until it reaches the front corner of the motherboard. Run it across the 6 (black, green, red, blue) stepper motor connectors and bind it to the wires (some printers have wire-ties only binding this group of wires; you may want to purchase some locally to bind these wires again).

STEP 10: At the front right corner of the motherboard, the black wire splits off from the blue and brown wire. Connect the black wire back to the connector that came with the replacement part (and was disconnected in step 08). See the picture below to know which slot the wire goes in on the connector. Also connect the connector to the motherboard in the correct slot (also seen in picture below):

One wire down! Two to go!

STEP 11: Now find the binding going to the the power supply unit. Bind the blue and the black until it reaches the power supply unit (you may have a bit of excess).

STEP 12: BLUE GOES TO NEGATIVE ("-") - With the power off, use a Phillips-head (cross) screwdriver to loosen a negative terminal. Insert the blue wire, tighten down the terminal, and gently tug on the wire to confirm that it is secure. Re-adjust if necessary. (See image under step 06.)

STEP 13: BROWN GOES TO POSITIVE ("+") - Loosen a positive terminal, insert the brown wire, tighten the terminal screw, and gently pull on this wire to confirm that it is secure. Re-adjust if necessary. (See image under step 06.)

STEP 14: Turn on the printer. Test the sensor using the tip of the screw driver to touch the end of the induction sensor. There are two LED's involved with this sensor: one on the sensor itself and one on the motherboard. When the one on the sensor is on the one on the motherboard should turn off. DO NOT, DO NOT, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HOME THE PRINTER.

(The binding in the left photo is incorrect; the black binding should be on the Z-Stop induction sensor - not the Y-Stop sensor - and should be bound almost all the way to the metal portion of the induction sensor. The photo is useful only for the test mentioned in step 14).

STEP 15:VERY IMPORTANT STEP - You now will need to re-calibrate the Z-Offset now. DO NOT HOME THE PRINTER BEFORE RE-CALIBRATING THE Z-OFFSET. Otherwise, the print bed glass can press into the nozzles on the print head damaging, the glass, the nozzles, the print head, and/or the z-axis motors. Here is the link for calibrating the Z-Offset on the Creatr HS printers: How to Calibrate the Z-Offset of the Creatr HS